


Nu Kyr'adyc, shi Taab'echaaj'la (Not Gone, Merely Marching Far Away)

by leogobsin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Bipolar Disorder, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 18:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21123506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leogobsin/pseuds/leogobsin
Summary: Leia is offered condolences from a very unexpected source





	Nu Kyr'adyc, shi Taab'echaaj'la (Not Gone, Merely Marching Far Away)

**Author's Note:**

> I originally had this idea after Force Awakens, but then Last Jedi came out and there wasn't space in the canon for it to take place after TFA, so I'm getting it done now before Rise of Skywalker comes out and probably makes it so there isn't space in the canon for it to take place after TLJ.
> 
> The mando'a phrases are taken from mandoa.org, originally written by Karen Traviss.
> 
> It's arguable that Boba is wildly out of character here but listen. You don't have all the facts, which are: I love him.
> 
> (i miss u carrie)

She hasn’t been sleeping much. For a while it felt excusable; she explained it away with how busy things are, regrouping and rebuilding. But that work has died down for now. She isn’t awake working, she’s just awake. The physician gave her pills to sleep, but she doesn’t like to take them. She knows it doesn't make sense, she takes other meds no problem, but somehow a pill to knock yourself out feels different than a bit of lithium every day to keep your brain under control.  
  
So she’s awake, wandering hallways, finding disused alcoves and back rooms to sit and think. Sometimes she talks to Luke, and to the others he’d introduced: Obi-Wan, Yoda, Qui-Gon. She asked them about Han. She shouldn’t have, she knew the answer, but she had to try. Mostly though, she just thinks. Looks out at the activity still going on even deep in the night as she tries vainly to make sense of things.  
  
That’s what she’s doing the night he shows up. She’s deep in thought, but her senses are sharp, Force-assisted reflexes honed as ever. The slightest disturbance, and she’s spun to face the intruder, blaster drawn and dropping to a firing position before she even sees him..  
  
The blaster is trained on an old man, older than her it seems; his warm, pale brown skin is weathered and scarred. He wears tall black boots, loose trousers of pale blue cloth, and a matching tunic tucked into a simple black belt and worn over a darker shirt. His arms are raised, palms spread wide, stance relaxed and passive, no visible weapons or armor.  
  
“Sorry there, didn’t mean to surprise you.” His voice is deep and scratchy, with a distinct warmth to it. “I didn’t exactly feel comfortable coming through official channels. Didn’t think they’d let me in, to be honest.”  
  
There is a silence as Leia slowly lowers her blaster (but does not reholster it) and untenses her body, returning to a more neutral stance.  
  
“Do er… do you know who I am?”  
  
It takes a moment, but yes. Yes she does. Leia had studied the Clone Wars. She knows that face. It’s aged decades beyond the clones who fought, scarred and splotched with chemical burns, but yes. She recognizes that face.  
“I think I do. You aren’t…” she doesn’t really think it’s a possibility, but she’s running an army here. She has to ask. “You aren’t here on a job, are you?”  
  
Boba chuckles a bit, running a hand over the receding stubble on his scalp. “No, stars no. I’m uh, well I suppose I’m retired. I came to see you, as a matter of fact.”  
  
“What the hell for?”  
  
“To er… condolences?" His poster slumps with a small sigh. "Can we sit somewhere? My knees are all shot to shit.”  
  
Leia pauses for a moment, eyes narrowed. “Follow me.”  
  
The walk is tense and silent. Boba follows a half dozen paces behind as Leia keeps a careful eye out for anyone else in the corridors. Trying to explain this would be more of a headache than she needs right now.  
In the sitting room of her quarters, Boba lowers himself into a chair, sitting straight and upright, one hand rubbing his knee gently.  
  
“You want anything to drink?” Leia turns her head back as she pours a glass of thick auburn wine.  
  
“No. I…” he trails off for a beat. “For a bit after the Clone Wars I was real deep in, got pretty bad. Been dry ever since.”  
  
Leia makes a slight hum of acknowledgement. “Doctors keep telling me not to with the meds I’m on, but hey, hasn’t killed me yet.” She sits, takes a sip. “So. Condolences?”  
  
“Yeah. Meant to come about Han, but things kept going and I suppose now it’s about Luke too, huh?” A slight grin. “Sorry. Never was great at being delicate.”  
  
Leia snorts and gulps down more of the wine. “Please, everyone else is falling over themselves trying not to upset me. I appreciate someone cutting through the bullshit. You wanted to come about Han though? Always thought you two fucking hated each other.”  
“I did, more or less, but I always kinda liked you.”  
  
“Is that so?” A playful smile, a slight lean forward.  
  
“You’re strong. You speak your mind, you don’t give up. And I heard you were the one who took out Jabba.”  
  
”Didn’t you work for him?”  
  
“Eh, sometimes. Didn’t mean I liked him. Tell the truth, if shit hadn’t gone down at Carkoon I was about ready to take a shot at him myself.”  
  
“Wish you’d been ready a week earlier, would have saved people a lot of trouble.”  
  
“Well, I suppose I was ready, but Bossk was still there, and if I did it he’d have a go at me for the Hutt Council reward, it’d be a whole thing.”  
  
“Alright, enough war stories, you old has-been,” says Leia, grinning. “You’re here for condolences. Go ahead, condole me.” She spreads her arms wide as she leans back in her chair.  
  
Boba takes a deep breath, gathering his thoughts “Han... was a smug prick and a cheating bastard, and he never did and honest day’s work in his life, but... he didn’t deserve to go out like that. Nobody does. And you didn’t deserve that. It’s fucked. The whole thing is fucked. You’ve spent your whole life doing the right thing, you’re stronger and better than just about anyone alive, and your husband and brother both get killed by the same hateful scum that should’ve been defeated thirty years ago. It’s just fucked.”  
  
“Well, I’ll drink to that.” And she does.  
  
A moment passes before Boba speaks again. “Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.” Leia looks up from her drink. “It’s a mando’a remembrance. ‘I am still alive, though you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal.’ You follow it by repeating names of the dead. Han Solo. Luke Skywalker.”  
  
“Bail Organa. Breha Organa.”  
  
“Jango Fett. Zam Wessell.”  
  
“Amilyn Holdo.”  
  
“Aurra Sing.”  
  
“Padmé Amidala. Anakin Skywalker.”  
  
“The clone army.”  
  
“Obi-Wan Kenobi. Raymus Antilles. Kanan Jarrus. Jan Dodonna. The people of Alderaan. The old Jedi Order. Too many to name.”  
  
“Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la. ‘Not gone, merely marching far away.’”  
  
The silence that follows is long, but it is not uncomfortable. It is somber and calm: the silence of two people who understand each other, who know that finding the words to share their thoughts would be wasted effort. Finally, Boba is the one to break it.  
  
“How’s the wookie taking it?”  
  
“He’s managing. Got a new friend to help him tinker around with the Falcon.”  
  
“Right, the scavenger girl. From what I hear, she’s really something huh?”  
  
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it.” Silence hangs again for a moment. Leia drains the last of her cup. “So that’s it then? You’ve said your piece and you’ll be off?”  
  
“Actually, one last thing.” As he stands up, Boba reaches to a small pouch at his belt. He pulls out a small datachip, then tosses it toward Leia, whose hand snaps up to catch it. “ID numbers and access codes for accounts with the Banking Clan, Hutt Council, some independent places on Nar Shaddaa, Corellia, Cato Neimoidia… probably forgetting some others, but it’s all in there.”  
  
Leia looks at the chip, turning it over in her hand. “Did you just hand me your entire fortune?”  
  
“Not entire no. I’ve kept more than enough to carry me through a long and happy life. But I just handed you a fair bit. Make good use of it, eh? I was glad to see Vader dead. Galaxy doesn’t need another one.”  
  
“You know, I just have to think… the stories you could tell. I’d love to pick your brain, if you’d stay a bit longer.”  
  
“Sorry, but I can’t stick around. I was never one for conversation anyway.”  
  
“One question?”  
  
His face screws up for a moment. “Alright, one.”  
  
“When you leave, where are you going back to?”  
  
“You promise not to have me assassinated for past crimes against the Rebel Alliance?”  
  
“Oh, I’m sure you could handle any assassin I’d send.”  
  
“You never know, I’m getting real old these days.” The same smile on both their faces. “Kamino. Dad’s old apartment. I thought about going to Mandalore, but... well, dad was mando, not me. Kamino’s the only home I’ve ever had.”  
  
“You ever think twice about retirement, we could sure use a fighter like you.”  
  
“I promise you, once my mind’s made up no power in the galaxy can change it.”  
  
“So I’ve heard.”


End file.
